Younger? Yeah I agree. I think the most obvious difference is the lines and shading that denote her cheekbones are missing in recent pages. Just contrast that last panel with the first panel of page 15 back in chapter 1. Payet lost his too.

But that last panel is probably the first time I could describe Syr’nj as “cute”. But I do like the distinct art style.

Gravedust’s hands seem somehow incorrectly placed in panel #2. He’s holding neck and throat but everything in that panel seems to indicate that he is breaking the sniper’s neck. But for doing that, he’d have to put the second hand on the chin, not at the throat.

Besides that there seems to be a fuckup in distances: First there is Syr’nj directly confronted with the sniper, then there is Gravedust killing the sniper from behind and next Syr’nj seems to have to run at least ten feet to get next to Gravedust, whose foot is caught in a trap… hm.

Some things are just tricky to get across with art alone. I’ve read plenty of comics. Enough to not question something unless it’s clearly screwed up. Chances are it’s just something the artist had trouble conveying, or a comic book physics moment.

if you’re going to sneak up on someone from behind and snap their neck like that, you’re better off grabbing their chin when trying to twist their head off. Just grabbing their neck like that gives you next to no leverage.

Hmmm….well dwarves are supposed to have a superior strength to size ratio than a “normal” human, I suppose he could just be useing brute strength, adding a rush of adrenalin from his injuries and that sniper is like bubble wrap in his hands. pop pop pop, or an empty water bottle..crinkle crinkle. Anyone have any other good sound effect anologies? heh heh

The whole chin-grab thing is mostly Hollywood; generally what happens is you break or dislocate their jaw while causing a severe neck sprain. If you really want to disrupt the spinal cord from behind, you’ll have a better result by getting them in a sleeper hold and kicking their knees out from under them while you drop yourself to the ground; that way all of your weight is applied to their neck in a pulling up and wrenching forward motion, which is essentially the same effect as a hanging.

That said, Gravedust’s hands are perfectly positioned for a sideways vertebral separation (think of grabbing a pencil in a baseball bat grip and wrenching your hands in opposite directions) followed by a clockwise twist to be certain of it.

Haha. I got that hand position from the chiropractors I’ve been to. The first time you ever get your neck cracked every kung fu movie you’ve ever seen flashes before your eyes. Also, poor Dusty doesn’t have much of a choice since he’s been immobilized and he’s so much shorter than the assailant.

Though, I do find it strange that he felt the need to tell Syr’ to move on… Poor girl just wants to be so hands on. She’s pretty cool though, for a nature elf that does science (ok, that’s just plain awesome).

Geez, most people I’ve know with blatant concussions–and I have encountered a few– just say “nuhhhhhh” or at best “Whaaaa..?” while the thick drool and amazing amounts of blood spill all over. It makes me wonder if perhaps Byron has rehearsed this part a little more than would be enjoyable. Whatever, he’s certainly the most polite of head trauma patients.

Does Syr’nj have stiches on her neck in the last panel? Or I am just a goober who never noticed her undercollar before?

and about the neck snapping, gravedust looks to me like he’s holding the throat to stabilize the rest of the body while he twists the head up and to the left using the back of the head and neck as a handhold. or maybe he just crushed the guy’s windpipe and twisted for good measure

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